


Five Fluffy Ficlets

by Musyc



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: Community: cottoncandy_bingo, Cute, Draco Malfoy - character, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Hermione Granger - character, Romance, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-24
Updated: 2012-09-23
Packaged: 2017-11-14 22:17:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 2,950
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/520085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musyc/pseuds/Musyc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fluff and romance ficlets, love and sweetness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Heart(Shape)

"When can I look?" Hermione twitched her fingers over her eyes, pretending she was about to take her hands down at any moment. She laughed as she felt Draco's hands wrap around her wrists. "I wasn't going to peek, Malfoy."

"Yes, you were." Draco drummed his fingers on the backs of her hands. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "You can't help yourself. You always have to peek. You talked the jeweler into giving you a glimpse at your engagement ring, you talked my mother into letting you see what restaurant I reserved for the night I planned to propose, you even managed to sucker Pansy into telling you exactly what I was going to wear so that you could be sure to match. You always have to know what's going to happen in advance, Granger. You are an inveterate planner and scheduler and lister."

Hermione kept her fingers over her eyes, but wrinkled up her nose and stuck out her tongue so Draco could get most of the effect of her fake annoyance. "I have to plan things in advance. I hate surprises. They never turn out as nice as other people think they're going to be. I want to know so I can brace myself for whatever it is."

"I promise, Hermione." Draco's voice softened and he stroked her upper arms. She felt him kiss each of her hands, then carefully tilt his head to kiss her mouth without dislodging her fingers from her eyes. "I promise, you will like this surprise. And if you don't, I will never ever ever try to surprise you again. I will run any plans past you the second I think of them, so that you can prepare yourself well in advance and you can make all the lists you fell necessary."

"Don't mock my lists." Hermione wrinkled her nose further, this time in true annoyance. She knew that her constant need to make lists and schedules was frustrating to a lot of people, but Draco had always seemed supportive. He'd never teased her about them before.

He kissed her again, gently pulling her hands away from her eyes. She kept them shut, her breath catching when he kissed her eyelids. "I'm not mocking your lists, love," he murmured to her. "I'm taking them very seriously. If you don't like this surprise, I won't surprise you again. I will always give you the chance to prepare and think and plan."

She opened her eyes, just a crack, just enough to see the tip of his nose and his mouth. The line of his lips was straight and firm, without even the slightest curl at the corners. There was no hint of amusement or teasing in his mouth at all, and she opened her eyes further to take in his whole face. His grey eyes were steady on her, with two narrow lines between his pale brows as he drew them together. That was his serious face, and she exhaled slowly. "All right. I'll hold you to that promise." Twining her arms around his neck, she drew his head down for a proper, lingering kiss. When she released him, she drew the pad of her thumb beneath his mouth. "And now I promise to give your surprise a chance. What is it?"

He smiled and rubbed her shoulders. Stepping aside, he gestured to the floor behind him. Hermione glanced down. It looked like several hundred rose petals were scattered across the floor, but when she tipped her head, she realized it wasn't random. Quite a few petals had floated out of formation, apparently thanks to the light breeze from the open window, but enough had remained in place. Draco had spread pink, white, and red petals across the floor in the shape of a heart, with their initials in the center. He'd even made a Cupid's arrow out of ribbons.

Floating above the heart, in a sparkling golden beam, was a book. An antique book bound in cracked leather with small designs of gold leaf tracing the cover. Hermione stepped forward, crossing the line of rose petals, and the book fell into her hands. She ran her fingers over the title on the spine. "Hogwarts, A History?" Her voice caught and she glanced up to Draco, eyes wide. "First edition?"

He smiled. "Took me ages to find, but I was fairly certain you'd like that. Happy anniversary, Hermione."

She bent to put the book on the floor and threw herself into his arms. She kissed him wildly, from hairline to chin and cheek to cheek. "You. You. You!" She drew back to look at her, feeling as though she was beaming brighter than the golden light had. "This. Is a wonderful surprise. It's perfect."

He grinned. "That's what I wanted to hear."


	2. Rain/Storm

Draco crouched by the fireplace, rearranging the logs with cautious nudges of the iron poker. The tall mullioned doors stood open to let in a few flashes of distant lightning and the relief of a wind from the storm that had finally broken the oppressive heat. Charms and spells kept the rain from entering the house.

Hermione watched puddles slowly forming on the flagstones of the terrace. They lasted only a handful of seconds before another spell wicked them away to leave the terrace dry. She stuck one hand outside and felt the rain patter against her skin. The storm was some distance away and they were on the fringes of it, leaving them the rolling thunder and bright flashes to admire, but only enough rain to wet down the gardens and leave them sparkling.

Draco came up beside her and settled his arm around her waist. Hermione drew her hand back. As soon as it crossed the boundary of the door, her skin was dry, not even a drop of rain left on her fingers. She made a quiet noise of disappointment and Draco chuckled. "No wonder your Patronus is an otter," he said, squeezing her waist. "You love playing in the water, don't you?"

"Nothing wrong with that." She laughed under her breath as she nestled in against his side. "My parents used to have a terrible time of it, convincing me to stay inside when it stormed. It wasn't playing in the rain that bothered them, really. It was that I'd come in, soaking wet, shoes full of water, and drip all over the house from the front door all the way to my room." She leaned her head on his shoulder and watched the lightning dance in the clouds. "Too old for that now, I suppose."

"Who says?" Draco rested his chin on her head and drew slow circles on her hip with one finger. "Who says you're too old? For one, you're a witch. You have at least a hundred years left in you. By that standard, you're still practically a teenager." He put his hand in the small of her back and gave a gentle push. "Go play."

It was a tempting suggestion, but she shook her head. "I'm not dressed for it. It's just silly. I shouldn't--"

Before she could finish, Draco was gone. He dashed outside and into the rain. Instantly, his silk robes were spotted with rain and his fringe stuck to his cheeks. He held out both arms and spun in place, the hems of his robes fluttering around him. "C'mon, Granger!" He shouted a word she didn't catch. The puddles on the flagstones formed and stayed, the charm canceled at his command, and Draco met her eyes. He grinned as water lapped at his boots. Without looking away from her, he jumped and sent a splash of water up to his knees. He held his hand out to her. "Come play!"

Hermione bit her fingernail, then burst into laughter. She kicked off her shoes and ran barefoot into the rain. As she passed Draco, she slapped his arm. "You're it!" She charged down the steps and into the garden, slipping on wet grass and laughing with the thunder. Draco gave chase and they played together, dancing in the rain.


	3. Stroll

"You couldn't have guessed this might happen?" Draco gestured at the dark clouds and the wall of water sheeting off the plastic roof of the shelter. He pressed further into the corner to avoid the splashes as rain hit the puddles outside, then raised his voice. "It's England, Granger. Dear old soggy England. Of course it's going to rain." He wrung out his sleeves and sighed before glaring at her. "What did you say? 'Let's take a walk, Draco. A stroll together would be nice, Draco. We don't need our wands for this, Draco.' Why on earth did I listen to you? What were you thinking?"

Hermione watched him silently until he took a deep breath, then launched herself across the shelter and caught him in a squelching hug. Draco yelped. Hermione laughed and pushed his hair away from his eyes. "I was thinking... I could do this." She licked water off his neck, then sucked a drop from his earlobe.

Draco's head hit the wall. He grunted, lashes fluttering. "You knew it was going to rain," he muttered. He gripped the sides of her dress and squeezed water out to drip over his fingers. "Our wands and the umbrella. You left them behind deliberately."

"Ten points to Slytherin." Hermione lifted his hand to her mouth and sucked a raindrop off his knuckle. "I had plans for you, Malfoy. Terrible, wicked plans. They involved getting you stuck in a storm, huddled in a shelter soaking wet, with nothing but body heat to keep you warm." She released him and stepped back. Her eyes sparkled as she grinned. "But if you'd rather stand there and whinge, go right ahead."

Plopping onto the narrow bench near the shelter's opening, she crossed her legs and hummed offkey. "Lovely weather," she said in a bright voice. "Shame you're hiding over there."

Draco eyed her. Her dress was stuck to her skin, almost transparent in places. It showed every curve of her body and clung to her legs. Getting caught in the rain certainly had worked out for her. He was convinced he resembled a drowned rat at the moment, but Hermione had his full attention.

She glanced over her shoulder at him. Wrapping both arms around her torso, she gave a dramatic, patently false shiver. "Aren't you going to keep me warm?" She fluttered her lashes and pouted.

Snorting, Draco pushed off the wall of the shelter. He straddled the bench behind her. "All right, all right, you faker." He squeezed rain out of her hair and draped it over her shoulder, then wrapped both arms around her waist as she leaned back against him. "Next time you do this, Granger, pick a better day. If it's a warm rain, I'll stay out in it with you. We'll take a nice long walk, get completely soaked, and you can lick all the water off me that you please."

Hermione tipped her head on his shoulder and kissed the side of his neck. "Sounds good."


	4. Friendship

"Remind me again why we're going to this party." Draco adjusted the collar of his robes and touched his wand to a loose thread. It severed itself from the grey fabric. He examined himself in the mirror one more time, nodded in satisfaction, and turned to face Hermione. "You know I'm going to be the only Slytherin there. Might as well just strip me naked and drag me into the street. It would be less humiliating."

"That's for after the party, Malfoy. The first part, at least. For the second part, I was planning to haul you into the back garden." Hermione slid a gold comb into her hair above her left temple and muttered a charm to hold it in place. She looked over her bare shoulder at him. The lotion she'd smoothed on after her bath had left her skin with a hint of shimmer. Draco suspected it would make her glow in the moonlight and he contemplated another attempt at getting her to skip the party. That 'naked in the garden' idea was promising.

Hermione's lips quirked, as if she knew what he was thinking. She likely did. She always seemed to, somehow.

She slipped her feet into tall gold pumps and swayed across the room. "We're going to the party," she said as she twined her arms around his neck. "It's Harry's engagement party. I'm not going to miss it."

"Still doesn't explain why I have to go. He's your friend. Not mine. We're mortal enemies, actually. Archneme--"

Hermione kissed the tip of his nose, interrupting his train of thought. She brushed a finger over his throat in a spot that always made him shiver with pleasure. At his swiftly indrawn breath, she smiled. "We're going," she said again. "Because I'll give you a very nice reward if you behave yourself."

Draco closed his eyes and concentrated, forcing himself to focus on the woman in front of him and not the fantasy that had leapt into his mind as soon as she'd touched his neck like that. It was difficult, but he managed after a moment. "If I have to behave myself to get a reward, then I'm definitely not going. Let me remind you, Slytherin surrounded by Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. Swots and Weasleys. I've faced those odds before, Granger. I always end up turned into a slug or summat. No. Can't imagine any reward you'd name that would make it worth me keeping on good behavior the entire night."

Hermione tugged his head down and nipped the curve of his ear. In a low voice, she explained to him precisely what she'd had in mind for his reward. Draco's knees buckled.

He caught himself on the edge of the dressing table and hauled her close to stand between his knees. Resting his head on her shoulder, he sighed. "Fine. But you understand, I do this under protest."

Hermione laughed and patted his hair. "Stop whinging. I already talked to Harry. As a gesture of our friendship, we came to an agreement. You can call him Scarhead the entire night, as long as he can call you Ferret."

Draco lifted his head and considered this. Open permission to insult plus the salacious promises from his favorite witch. After weighing the benefits in his mind, he nodded. "It's a deal. Seal it with a kiss?" he asked hopefully.

Hermione patted his cheek. "Afraid not, love. You'll muss me, and that is not good behavior before we even get to the party." She stepped away and turned to wink at him. "It will be very good behavior afterward."


	5. Unexpected Love

Hermione looked across the crowded room to watch Draco gesturing as he talked, deep in conversation with Terry. He caught her eye and flicked a smile her direction. She returned it, fluttering her fingers at him in a small wave.

"When you look at each other, it's like there's no one else in the world." Hermione turned to her left, where Parvati was grinning at her. Parvati inclined her head in Draco's direction. "So how did that happen, anyway? I don't think there's a Seer in the world who could have predicted _that_."

Hermione took a slow sip of her wine, considering her answer. "Hard to say," she replied finally. "You're right, nobody could have predicted it, least of all us. Really, I don't know how it happened myself. Everybody grew up, figured out what mistakes they'd made and how not to make them again, and we all learned quite a few things about ourselves and each other along the way." She wrapped her free arm around herself as if Draco stood there with his arm around her waist. "He's really very smart, Vati. Clever and dead loyal to the people he cares about. He's still an arrogant prat, don't get me wrong, but he's not as bad as he used to be. He's matured. We're living in a new world these days and he's a new man."

Parvati chuckled when Hermione stopped to take another drink of wine. She swept her long braid over her shoulder and toyed with the copper hoop of her earring. "Do you realize that your entire face lights up when you talk about him? Not that anyone should be surprised. He glows when he talks about you. Practically bright as the sun every time he mentions your name." She shook her head and patted Hermione's shoulder. "I don't know if you two have figured it out yet, but you should know something. You're in love, and everyone can see it. Lucky you."

Hermione stammered, unable to form a response before Parvati slipped away, into the crowd. She bit her lip and looked across the room to Draco. He finished his conversation with Terry and shook hands. He came straight to her and settled his arm around her waist. After stealing a drink of her wine, he met her eyes, brow arched. "What?" he asked in a low voice. "You look like you swallowed a hippogriff. The wine's not _that_ bad."

Hermione shook her head and nestled in against his side, her thumb hooked into the rear belt loop of his trousers. "Nothing. It's.... It's nothing. Just heard something unexpected. Something I hadn't realized people had noticed."

"That you're brilliant, successful, and absolutely stunning in that dress?" Draco squeezed her waist and bent to drop a kiss on the crown of her head. "Already knew that."

Hermione rested her cheek against his shoulder. "Prat," she said with affection. She stole her wine back from him and finished the glass. "Something else. I'll tell you later."


End file.
